Large carrot destined for soup

Wednesday

Dec 12, 2012 at 6:00 PM

It wasn’t the heaviest carrot ever harvested. It likely isn’t the biggest vegetable of its kind ever pulled from the ground in Missouri. But the carrot discovered recently by Mary Jo Rose of Bowling Green was still a whopper.

DANNY HENLEYdanny.henley@courierpost.com

It wasn’t the heaviest carrot ever harvested. It likely isn’t the biggest vegetable of its kind ever pulled from the ground in Missouri. But the carrot discovered recently by Mary Jo Rose of Bowling Green was still a whopper.The carrot, which weighed in at 2 pounds, 9 ounces, was only recently harvested by Rose.“I was just amazed when that rascal popped out of the ground. I had to dig pretty deep to get it out,” said Rose, noting that she and her husband, James, both “love” carrots.Rose, who removed the carrot about a week-and-a-half ago, was the last one to be removed.“I had a couple about half its size. The rest were normal sized,” she said.Before slicing it up Rose has been busy showing the carrot to friends and family.“My husband was amazed, too. My daughter went hysterical,” she laughed. “I had some friends who said, ‘Why don’t you take it up to the Courier-Post and show them.’”Photos of the oversized vegetable have been e-mailed by family members to people as far away as Minnesota.“It’s getting around,” she said.Increasing Rose’s surprise regarding the carrot’s size was the less-than-ideal growing conditions encountered this summer.“It was so dry, but then we got a few rains,” she said, noting she doesn’t use any fertilizer, only compost in her garden. “I’ve had a garden in that spot for 25 years. I just try to take care of the soil.”As for the carrot’s future, Rose explained it will soon be a “guest” for dinner.“I’ll cut it up and put it in a soup if it’s any good. It should be,” she said.